Project Stealthlow

[waynio]

Ugh the man flu left me with a nasty cough so not really been on top form since the 1st also my sleep pattern has flipped upside down again, tried to put that right last night but fell asleep at about 7 am when I should have gone over to the garage & put a day of modding in, so I woke up at 7 pm lol so I'll do a bit on the case today & re start at 6 or 7 am, go at it all day & have the sleep pattern fixed & a bit more progress .

For the curved bend I'm going to use some spare flat bar to test how well it goes & how well it stays in it's form, I was going to form a joining piece at the top back out of solid square bar & tap it but I think it would be best to get some 20x20mm square acrylic bar, form it, drill it & push nut inserts into it, I just think it would be the easier & more reliable option for a semi pemanent joint.

If I do decide to go with acrylic to join the curved pieces to the top back then that will cause a small delay, but I could do a couple of other bits so no time would be wasted .

 

[waynio]

Alright, I tried out the bending jig on some spare flat bar, used 3 clamps to hold it in place, thought it might snap & give me a mighty slap in the face lol, I think the way to make it so it doesn't spring back so much will be to use a piece of wood & a mallet to whack the bar against the jig bit by bit, then it might keep the form I'm after, simply way too much tension in the bar which would make it lose form massively to do it any other way, but yeah it seems a faily simple process , the hard part is making the bar the correct length, but I can get around that by cutting the bar with 50mm longer than I think I need & then cut it down to exact size needed .

 

[waynio]

I was just thinking, would you really see THAT much of a difference, moving onto the i5 2500k? I mean the Q9650 is a beast and overclocked with something like the megahalems I can't really see there being a huge difference, especially when paired with a gtx 580, be interesting to see comparison tests, anyway, the fan holders are coming along brilliantly, your patience and skill really is to be admired.

I'll run a bunch of benchmarks before & after , been on the edge of sidegrading to i5 760 for a while now so sandy bridge came at the right time for me, ddr2 was limiting my overclock also & I couldn't find a good 775 mobo that supported ddr3 + sandy bridge uses tons less power even with a decent overclock.
Thanks xxela1337 .

Subbed.

Looking forward to following this to it's conclusion!

Thanks maximusmi2 .

The bending of the aluminium flat bars is proving to be not as simple as I imagined , just spent 5 hours trying to get them curved exactly as I want them, think I've got it, they just need attaching to the rear panel & front bottom, it may be extremely difficult to make the acrylic piece in the middle match the flat bars for a flush look though because I had to manually bend the bars partly with the jig but mostly by hand, tried pushing against the jig but it just sprung back when clamps removed, found out heating it up did make it a little easier to bend but just makes it expand & then retract so didn't keep the form .

I'll have an update later, time to get back at it .

 

[waynio]

Tried heating it, no good, tried whacking it, no good lol .

Tried over bending & got a reasonable result .

I got the form but not sure if I'll let it pass & take up Attila's tip about getting a roller or Kojak's awesome offer of rolling it for me , if I go with the roller I'll need to make a new jig also so I can take the curve from the roller & align the curve correctly, but I could keep on doing all the rest while I save up, I really shouldn't be spending any more for a bit so the roller might have to wait a couple of months before I can spend any more on it, undecided.
Heres what I managed through over bending, just not sure the acrylic piece will match for a flush finish but I could remake the jig so it does match .

 

[waynio]

And here it is with both bars to perfect form woo hoo , just needs fixing to the base & the back panel & then I have my template for the mobo tray & side panels .
Used a big stew pan to perfect the curve .

 

[waynio]

LOL sitting around watching TV while waiting for the delivery made me vegetate a little so I'm not in the mood for modding today but got the new parts .

The CPU looks about the size of a chocolate orange lol .

 

[waynio]

Looking great so far, the curve really looks to be turning out well

Thanks CitizenSoldier, the curve took about 7 hours of trial & error & a big stew pan helped correct any imperfections of the curve .

Looks like it is still coming along well!

Especially that curve.. seems to be developing nicely... might point out though that that case looks MASSIVE!

kd

Thanks KD & yep it's a tall one .

 

[waynio]

Grrr as I was a little worried about the light doesn't spread through the stick bars so the only way to do this right would be to plug some diy LED's in the base on both sides, but this could make for some extra nice effect .
Here it is with the LED strip draped around them.

And here with just the fans.

I suppose with the motherboard having bits of a nice blue I could use blue LED's the stick bits might look really nice too in a 2 tone .

These fans are silent too BTW .

 

[waynio]

Typical ASUS

Oh I'm gutted I chose to give asus a last chance, years later & same old asus, honestly every single asus board I have bought has been a PITA, should have waited a little longer to raise the money & bought the p67-ud7, all asus is good for is wasting my time & stressing me out, honestly I'd be happy to pay double for a product that works so I take that back about gigabyte out pricing themselves lol I guess their price is very well justified.

Obviously there are many who don't have issues with asus but me I have been very unlucky with every single asus board I ever owned, I'm going to try & get a refund to put towards a gigabyte p67-ud7 I haven't got time for asus BS & waiting for a stable properly functioning bios.

Switched my socket 775 back in play until I have the gigabyte board which won't be for a while .

Cold boot & restart issues btw so freaking annoying utterly temperamental on how it works, wasted an evening & all night so I declare asus as total garbage.

No doubt I'll persist a little more before I get a replacement but damn such a PITA compared to gigabyte which is simple as it should be.

 

[waynio]

Sorry to hear about your trouble.

Project coming along nicely though.

Thanks Tealc .

Well with me being busy with Stealthlow for at the very least of a month, I'll barely notice it with me not gaming or anything but it does stink, just hope the shop I bought it from are good enough not to mess me about when I ask for refund (I went with a Manchester shop for the mobo incase I had issues), another thing I've grown accustomed to with faulty boards unhelpful staff trying their best not to replace or refund, there are a lot of people with similar issue so I don't want a replacement, refund only so I can stick with good old gigabyte .

 

[waynio]

That's fair enough, Core 2 is getting quite long in the tooth now, your troubles with asus really sucks, I've been asus for a while + haven't had any problems, definitely a +1 for the UD7 though, looks like a fantastic board.

LOL I guess all mobo's are a draw of luck & I always get unlucky with asus boards .

The store I bought the asus board from confirmed it as being dead so I wasn't wrong so got it switched for the msi p67a-gd65 & it is awesome .

I'm not certain but I think intel advise not to go above 1.5v on the ram & think I found out why, when I did put my ram up to 1.6v it also increased the cpu volts from 1.17v to 2.05v.

My ram is 2x2gb ocz platinum 1600mhz 6,8,6,24 1.65v so not rated for these new sandy bridge rigs & I'm running it as 1600mhz 7,8,7,24 1.6v but holy sheet this memory wipes the floor with my previous 900mhz ddr2 big time more than double fast & with good low latency too.

I'm yet to overclock this rig, just been getting things sorted before I go there but I'd be really happy to achieve 4.5ghz on this & with the temps I'm getting on this I see no reason not to get to 4.5 or higher .

Ran some bench marks with my overclocked q9650 & ddr2 so when I've benched this new rig on stock settings & overclocked I'll post my findings comparing the 2 .

I'm super impressed with the msi board being rock solid & for having a reset cmos switch that totally works the second it's pressed so now I see gigabyte & msi in the same light, heck msi might be my new favourite as it had 2 extra sata ports & the cost was good & affordable which is a nice bonus so while msi are probably under selling themselves while their name rises to greatness, gigabyte is ramping up the price because of it's already situated good rep I think the winner of these new boards is msi in the premium low end and asus pffft .

 

[waynio]

Was just about to run the benches I did on my last rig & went to reboot & while windows was loading up it froze so decided to go for the overclock so the voltages are set correct :hehe: glad I did .

Used the bit-tech oc guide for a quick result for the 4.5ghz, I don't think there will be a need for more than this but going off the temps I have under the megahalems I'm very sure I could go much higher if needed :rock::thumb:.

Here are the benches I run.

q9650 @ 3.8ghz --- 8gb ddr2 @ 900mhz 5,5,5,18 --- GTX 580
CPC bench suite 2007

Everest bench results

Temps

3d mark 11

Heaven

Didn't get the pause in the heaven bench.

2500k @ 4.5ghz --- 4gb ddr3 @ 1600mhz 7,8,7,24 --- GTX 580
CPC bench suite 2007

Aida64 previously known as Everest bench results

Temps

3d mark 11

Heaven

Got the pause in the heaven bench.

Funny how on the heaven bench I got pretty much the same score as the 775 & 3dmark11 is very similar so it looks like the gtx 580 wasn't bottle necked at all :duh: but nonetheless overall the system is improved :thumb:.

 

[waynio]

Your talent is disgusting!! I mean that in a good way of course. To be able to do what you are doing (and have done) is no mean feat.

Look up heli-coils for the thread issues. You tap a slightly larger thread in the alloy and then insert the Heli-coil spring, which now provides the substance of the thread. You'll find them much tougher than the alloy, which should do away with the problems created by the softer aluminium.

Thought I'd revisit this as it left a permanent thought bubble in my head .

I looked into helicoils & soon after ordered a kit & removal tool just in case I might need it & ordered 100 m3 bits the bits are fine for 3mm material so these will really improve any of the bits that need a nice reliable thread, thanks for pointing these out Gepetto, still waiting on a couple more supplies before I can go full force back into this but should be soon, did order a pile of bolts mid december & they never arrived I was being overly patient about it so ordered with someone else & put a claim in for a refund .

 

[waynio]

Me wanna see more pictures

Me too but delays been holding this down .

Wow! What a build log! I really like the plans and the details of all your setbacks and triumphs. I am sure it's going to look great when it is finished.

There are also some great tips in here for getting items such as dremel cutting disks etc. and I am certainly subscribed to this thread (actually I have been for a while, but I thought it was time that I made a comment).

Makes my project look thoroughly pathetic in comparison! Where do you get all the time to spend on it?

Thanks John
Your project looks fine mate the wire work is a bit messy but the idea & execution looks good & solid, radiators take up a lot of space so it's good sense to attach it to a desk imo, maybe have quick disconnects so it's mobile & it would be awesome .
Reason I have so much time is I've been ill for ages so I'm unemployed, to be honest I believe I got classed with something I don't have & doctors were just lazy at diagnosing me, I would say I have an extreme form of shyness because that is precisely what I would diagnose myself with, but maybe just maybe all this modding & amateur engineering I've been getting into as a hobby could lead me into something similar job wise or further education but I won't get my hopes up lol.

Had man flu (might have even been the genuine swine flu had all the symptoms) bacon buttys fixed that lmao , system upgrade hiccups & waiting for deliverys which has held this project up.
Yeah been waiting on bolts since just past mid December, they never came & I was being way overly patient with letting the ebayer sort this out & put in the complaint with paypal yesterday & straight after ordered with someone else for the bolts, was also waiting for some acyrlic bars 20mmx20mmx500mm for making some structure connectors & also ordered a helicoil kit & a pile of helicoils that will be good for 3mm material so I'll be able to place reliable threads in the aluminium so I'm just waiting for the bolts now & with a bit of luck I'll have the bolts soon & I'll be able to carry on .

 

[waynio]

Coming along really nicely. How are you planning to bend the acrylic for the curve?

Thanks MP the plan for that is to remake the bending jig, I'll try & re-use the one I made by flipping it upside down but need to get the curved bars attached to the base & back panel so I can get the precise curve line to mark up the jig as it needs to be exactly the same curve else it won't be flush to the bars, I think this part could be the most challenging part of the build, the rest should just be a lot of effort & precise measuring .

 

[waynio]

Cant wait to see how this turns out, loving the fans by the way look good.

Cheers mate .

Got the needed bits to carry on so can start back up whenever which will probably be tomorrow .
Helicoil kit, helicoil removal tool, 100 m3 helicoils for 3mm material, hex driver since it's the 2mm size I always use, aluminium case feet which I'll heavily mod, m8 countersunk, m3 countersunk bolts & m3 button head bolts, all the bolts are high tensile bolts .

 

[waynio]

Project is alive again

Project is alive again .

Here's the helicoil set minus the 3.2mm drill bit, very glad I tried them out, all you do with these is drill the hole, tap it, use the question mark shape tool to put the helicoil on (it has a slit & the helicoil has a stick out bit) & you place it in the hole & turn until it sits in the thread by 0.5mm or 1mm, then you pull it out & then push in the hole with the blunt tool & shake out the bit from the helicoil & woo hoo you have a very good reliable thread .

I put helicoils in all the corner bars, top & bottom so they are solid now.

Back panel fixed onto the base.

This is how I did it instead of messing with the drill press I used the cordless drill, clamped it in place measured & marked, did a spot drill, then a 2mm drill, then the 3.2mm drill for the helicoils so it was perfectly placed .

The front optical/fan plate clicks in place (nice fit) & holds without bolts but it will be bolted up.

Didn't take pictures of my attempts but started off wasting a couple of hours trying to use the disc sander, getting toasty throw it in cold water at least a hundred times D'oh, then switched to the air finger belt sander, was taking too long, then went on to vice & files & if I'd have started off with vice & files I'd have probably got them both made lol, but spent too much time on them for today so I'll do them tomorrow, anyway nice progress making up for down time I think .

Ah & the wood piece is to keep the back panel straight, some how it is slightly curved but will be fine once the motherboard tray is made & installed .

 

[waynio]

Awesome nice to see some shape appearing from the scraps!!

But fair play, that's ***** huge!! lol

Thanks EniGmA Kinda felt like the project died with all the waiting for bits & yeah it is huge lol , but still feel it will look right once complete, shame I'm not into water cooling really but maybe the day will come when I get interested in it .

This is coming along fantasticly, some very nice craftmanship going on here

Thanks Andrew appreciated .

 

[waynio]

cant wait to see the finished build!!

Yeah with me having the new system parts already up & running I really want to see it all in the new case , hopefully no more big hold ups .

Yeah, get yourself into water cooling then you can build a whole new case with a 3x4ft radiator for a side panel!! fitted with a few hundred vipers and you should be on a winner for a 7ghz overclock!!! LOL

LOL , I just hope I can pick it up ok, it's going to weigh a fair bit once all the hardware is installed, weighs quite a bit already , might even stretch a bit further & make a base with casters on so it's more mobile so we'll see .

 

[waynio]

OK set out to at least make the curve bar connectors & get the curve bars fixed to the rear panel today & done it .

It was hell to make the connectors from the 19mm square bar & didn't truly fancy using the acrylic bar so luckily I had some 6mm by 25mm flat bar that I bought when making the stack unit that never got used & turned out to be perfect for making the connectors with so with them only being 6mm thick they wasn't to thick or to thin for putting helicoils in, thought I'd need to put 2 bolts on each curve bar but 1 on each was good enough, if I'd have known that I'd have put the bolt in the middle, oh well.

So with this done now I'll be able use the fixed curve for making the templates for the side panels, motherboard tray & bending jig for the acrylic .